Monoprice 8P8C Shielded RJ45 Plug with Inserts for Cat6a Ethernet Cable 25pcs/pk8P8C Shielded RJ45 Plug w/ Inserts for Cat6a Ethernet Cable 25pcs/pack

The connectors themselves seem fine but there does seem to be a shortage of information from MP about compatible crimpers. I have a ratcheting crimp tool that uses a "1PK-3003D11" RJ45 set of jaws. These are "standard" as far as I know and worked well with every CAT5 connector I tried in the past. However, they completely destroy these connectors. What I ended up doing was using a hacksaw to cut off the two tabs that were crushing the connector. This means the only mechanical connection is the teeth in each wire and the shielding crimp at the back. But I don't plan on moving these cables once in place so hopefully they will last. Others have mentioned their tools crushing the metal housing and I wonder if that could have led to some of the high failure rates as it might have been pulling on the wires during the crimp. Also, these connectors do fit well in the Axis outdoor lightning arrestor for those interested.

The RJ45 plugs are some of the best I've found, and I certainly cannot beat the price. That said, while I've built many cables in the past, I've built 4 cables with these so far, and my 4th was the first to be free of a missing connection on a continuity test. (I highly recommend using a cable tester before attempting to use anything you build yourself, but definitely so with these.) Trent P's review is spot on. I've had the same experience for the most part. Crimping is solid because the metal shield will crimp down onto the wire, which looks ugly but you have a nice solid grip. There's also plenty of room inside the connector for a thick cable. However, the other downside I found is that the back edge of the metal shield is thin with a raw cut edge, not folded inward. Thus, when pressed down by crimping, the edge can cut into the cable, possibly slicing into the twisted pairs. So, when you trim your wires, be sure the plastic cover and foil shield are being inserted into the metal shield to protect the TPs, and after, be careful not to bend the cable up into the shield, cutting any further. Once the boot is in place, that shouldn't be a problem. I also agree with Trent P in that the wires inside feel too lose. The insert is not individual holes, and so you need the wires to be straight and well lined up before going into the insert, otherwise they will move on you during insertion into the main body. Also, the holes on the innermost part of the connector seem to be too wide, allowing the wires to move around and not make contact when crimped. Or possibly, the openings for the metal contacts are too wide, allowing the contacts to slide off to the side, instead of piercing the wire casing to the copper. In the close up picture, hopefully you can see what I do, that in this example, pins 3 and 5 are fairly straight, but all the others angle to the right just a bit. Just a little more refinement, Monoprice, and you'll have it down.